The 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is into the playoff tournament bracket and round 1 starts at 4 pm ET on Wednesday and picks up with Round 2 on Thursday and then leads into the quarterfinals this weekend and teams in action include the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, LA Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, while the Knicks and Bulls have byes.
The Knicks have Derek Fisher here coaching for the first time and he has done his job well, as the team is in first place in the standings in Las Vegas and Tim Hardaway is playing well too. The Knicks have three wins and no losses and they are tied with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers as well as the Washington Wizards and those teams now are through to the next round.
While the standings and the play doesn't always translate into NBA success, the summer league gives younger players and less experienced names more time to play. The summer league has given players who don't get minutes the chance to matchup with pro players and that is huge as guys try to develop. The games on Wednesday start up the playoffs bracket and the first matchup has the Timberwolves taking on the Phoenix Suns and they have some solid young stars playing, including Tyler Ennis, TJ Warren and Alexi Shved and that could be a tight game.
Jabari Parker has been playing for the Bucks and he matches up with the Spurs and that game will be on after the Warriors and Hawks play. The Warriors and Hawks game is on WatchESPN and so are some of the other games and this year the summer league has been very competitive. Charlotte matches up with Dallas and they just signed Lance Stephenson and are having a solid summer after signing Al Jefferson last year.
The games on Wednesday night have the chance to be very good, as the Houston Rockets are playing against the Toronto Raptors, while Shabazz Napier and the Miami heat are taking on the Clippers. Napier is leading his team in assists and he should be getting his footing under him now heading into the NBA. Mario Chalmers is back, but he has the chance to be a solid backup for Miami coming into things. The Lakers and Sixers are matching up as well and the bracket in the next round also has the Blazers, Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings and Jazz in along with the Knicks, Bulls and Pelicans.
The quarterfinals are on Saturday and then the semifinals are the day after before the finals on July 21 and that will lead into the latter stages of the summer offseason.
Check here for the NBA summer league live coverage from last Vegas from ESPN and the NBA.